In Front Of His Eyes
by WickedSong
Summary: Not many kids can say they've had the chance to see their parents find each other. But thanks to a malfunctioning time machine Matt Evans just might be able to. Based off the tumblr theory that Matt Rutherford is the Samcedes child from the future.


**In Front Of His Eyes,**

**Written by WickedSong.**

**Disclaimer/Note : I do not own Glee, FOX do. I don't even own this theory that Matt is the future Samcedes child but I had to do this. This is basically a crack!fic or as much of a crack!fic as I can do so I hope you enjoy. More in the note at the end.**

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><p>All Matt could think as the time machine grinded to an abrupt halt was relief. Relief that he was finally home, relief that he had done what he had to do, relief that he didn't have to worry about giving away who he really was anymore.<p>

That relief was short-lived when he opened his eyes and found himself in the exact same spot where he had thought he left. He had heard the whooshing sound, the beeps, felt the movement of the machine so what could this mean? He shook his head. Maybe the machine brought him forward and just to the same place he had left.

He hopped out and looked around the alley, hoping it was empty, which it thankfully was. He looked down at his feet to find a newspaper stuck to his foot.

And boy was he surprised to find the date to be the summer of 2010, not his own time.

He looked around gobsmacked. What had happened? What had malfunctioned? He should be back home right now.

Surveying the machine behind him he came to the conclusion that there were no dents, nothing of that variety which was hindering it. He opened the top and looked inside, and quickly his mistake became clear.

"_The charging time is long, almost a year, give or take. You know, so no one can use it too much."_

Brittany had warned him, warned them all when she had unveiled her invention, which she had put together with some help from his own father and Blaine, despite the insistence of those closest to them that perhaps it wasn't the most productive way to spend their time.

Matt could almost kick himself when he realised that for the entire time he had been in Lima, he hadn't been charging the machine back to its full potential. He was, without a doubt, stuck for another year, with no purpose now. He had done what he had to do.

Leaning against the machine and looking at the newspaper he saw that it was only July, the beginning of summer. He had spent his year in the glee club, being a quiet spectator as they built up their voice from a small group of five to the twelve – well, it was eleven now – they were. It was essential he had done this. Without him, however insignificant he may seem in the end, they would never have had enough members, would have never qualified for Sectionals. His mother would never have joined, along with his friends' parents and most importantly, the group wouldn't be around for his father to come into the next year.

That part was imperative.

The one thing his parents had always been grateful for was glee club, for it had been the one thing linking them together. Without it, they probably wouldn't have had any interaction in High School. It was a scary thought.

Of course it had taken them forever to get themselves together and then almost as soon as that had happened more problems because of his dad's family's financial situation had caused them to break up. Luckily his dad had come back and eventually they had worked things out.

_Well, _he thought, _no point in sulking_, as he walked out of the alley. He would just have to somehow stay inconspicuous and watch from the sidelines until this very long year was over.

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><p>It wasn't until the middle of October 2010 that he first had the idea that maybe he was somehow involved in getting his parents together in a more indirect way. It had been innocent enough and while he hated the idea of getting Puck in trouble it just had to be done.<p>

He had been walking in the area, disguised as well as he could, for Matt 'Rutherford' had transferred without a lot of fuss before the beginning of the new school year. Around the corner he noticed Puck and the ATM machine.

"_I wouldn't have even joined the club if it hadn't been for Mr. Schue persuading me after your Uncle Puck got caught stealing that ATM machine."_

He remembered the laughter that always followed his father's statement. And it came to him in a minute. He whipped out the cell phone he still had and dialled the police. As he put his phone away and walked from the scene he said a quick apology, hoping that Puck would never find out in the future and kick his ass.

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><p>Almost a month later and Matt found that his father hadn't been exaggerating when he had said he had been different in high school, at least in the beginning. Throughout his life he had been told that there were things more important than popularity and his father had always emphasised that this was a lesson he would either take to heart at that moment or learn the hard way.<p>

His dad was a star at the school, on the arm of the prettiest Cheerio and a talented performer while his mom was the diva he knew her to be. He wasn't completely sure when they became close but he was certain that it wasn't at this point. The complicated relationships of the glee club had been the stuff of many stories. He knew all about the relationship his dad had had with his Aunt Quinn, who was his mother's best friend, and he had even been 'engaged' to Quinn for a while. It took a long time for him to get his head around that one.

Of course not as long as it had taken him to get over how surreal actually being in the past was. He was getting to see these things unfold in front of his eyes. Of course he had to be careful because if he was caught then there would be the questions, the awkward 'I thought you had transferred, why aren't you at school?' That was the last thing he needed. He had been so good at blending in and getting on with it last year.

He had been very resourceful before coming to the past and had brought enough money for the year plus extra as well as getting a job. It wasn't ideal being stuck in a time that wasn't your own, and it was something that if he confided in anyone about he would be laughed at and then submitted for psychiatric analysis. So he just had to make do. Of course he was panicking on the inside but he was charging the machine and it would only be another seven or eight months until he was ready to leave. It was really just a matter of waiting.

His job was one at The Lima Bean coffee shop, as a custodian. It required minimal face to face contact with the customers (although no one from McKinley ever came in and if they did it was never for very long) and it gave him something to do.

Well he had thought minimal face to face time. Until he saw his mom walk in with Anthony Rashad.

He couldn't help but be a little nosy and a little irritated. He knew that his parents weren't together yet, nowhere near it and still he didn't like the thought of her going out on dates with other guys. He made sure to double check the charging of the machine that night because if he had to be around when she was dating Shane he didn't know what he'd do.

The date with Anthony seemed to be a bust though in the times that he had somehow managed to eavesdrop with his back turned, cleaning a floor. The two seemed to have nothing in common and with that an air of silence rang around the table. Matt had to be a little smug when the other boy left but he couldn't help but catch onto his mother's words as she got up, leaving a tip.

"Guess whatever I'm looking for isn't here."

That gave him an idea. Before she could go she went to the bathroom. On her way back he asked someone to give her a note, with the word 'prom' scrawled on it in messy handwriting. At first she just looked around, as he watched from behind a pillar but she quickly screwed it up and put it in the bin, shaking her head.

Matt just sighed. She would get it eventually.

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><p>November changed to December and Matt realised that school was a must. He managed to get all the transcripts he had prepared before his trip to the past. He had relocated his machine and himself to Westerville where he would attend Dalton Academy. He managed to pay for the tuition thanks to some quick thinking on his part.<p>

Of course, this was, as was everything else, a challenge. He had been looking forward to being able to simply blend in again and maybe even be a bit more recognisable at the school as no one from McKinley would be here.

Well, he was wrong.

The minute he saw his Uncle Kurt and Blaine chatting he knew that this would yet another place he'd have to hide. He mentally cursed himself, the time machine and the notion of time travel itself. He swore he would blow the thing up when he got back to his time. But it seemed so far away now.

When the Warblers returned from Sectionals, discussing the fantastic duet that the two blondes of New Directions had performed and Kurt had mentioned names, Matt swelled up with pride at his father and Quinn. Yes, the fact that they still sang romantic duets at this point did make him wary of the fact that his mother and father were still worlds away from one another but his dad was talented and he liked to think of him leading the New Directions to victory.

So he continued his wait, and whenever he got scared or lonely or thought about 'what if they don't get together?', 'what if I've screwed something up?' or 'what if I never get home?' he would just remember his father and his words.

"_Sometimes you just have to wait, son. And hope. Both of those things are really important. Promise me you'll never lose them."_

The January of 2011 was bitter but nothing was more annoying than realising that due to his Uncle Kurt's transfer, which he really should have remembered, that The Lima Bean became an even more frequent haunt of the glee kids, his mother included. The first time he saw her, Rachel, Blaine and Kurt huddled around a table he had quickly changed duties with one of his work mates, de clogging the toilets rather than go out and risk being spotted.

But he still had to sometimes go out and he was a master of eavesdropping by this point, hearing all about the plan to help the football team by joining it. This was one of the stories he had heard.

Nothing really happened in January to him personally, although this was around the time that his paternal grandparents lost their jobs and things were beginning to become a struggle for the family. Not to mention that this was the period of time where Quinn cheated on his dad and all went to hell for him. And he started dating Santana. One of the rare times he saw him at The Lima Bean he was with her and they weren't really speaking either. It was mostly just for show.

Matt had to guess that whatever his father was looking for he hadn't found either. Quickly he took out his notepad and scribbled the word 'prom' on the sheet of paper. He asked one of the servers to put it on the table while they passed.

He only caught the slight quirk of his dad's lips before he promptly turned around and was out of view.

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><p>In the excitement of the Warblers being at Regionals Matt had somehow found himself on the bus full of students wondering how he managed to be roped in to such a tricky situation. Like always he had to be careful. At Dalton he was always watching out for Kurt, but here, he would be on the look out for the entirety of the New Directions, minus his dad perhaps, who wouldn't recognise him.<p>

During the intermission just before the New Directions were due to go on, and after the Warblers had performed Matt was in the bathroom and just about to leave when who was to walk in but none other than his father himself. The blonde gave him a quick smile and Matt couldn't hold it in.

"Good luck."

His dad turned and held out his hand. "Thanks, man."

Matt shook it, trying to fight the urge to hug the guy in front of him. Except he wasn't the man he knew, he was his dad sure, but he was also the sixteen year old, not the one who had raised him. It was a fine fine line.

Even though he was out in the open he didn't care, as soon as the New Directions finished performing, Matt was one of the first out of his seat, clapping and cheering and not even trying to stop looking at his parents, who stood side by side, their hands almost touching, albeit not on purpose, but still...they looked close. Closer.

_Almost there_, he thought, _almost there._

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><p>When his Uncle Kurt transferred back to McKinley Matt could breathe a sigh of relief. One, because the other boy was no longer going to be tormented but two, because he no longer had to watch his every step around the school, hoping not to bump into him by any chance. That would be a disaster.<p>

In fact, since there was no Kurt to see him and no one else from McKinley he decided to join the Warblers for the short time he had left. All they did was perform in official places and they weren't eligible for competition anymore but it still gave him a chance to perform.

"So, you're going to prom with Kurt?" asked one of the senior Warblers, David, to Blaine, as they left practice. Matt's ears perked up at the sound of that. Prom. It was finally the time.

"Yeah. It means a lot to him."

On that Saturday night Matt made his way to his mother's family home, anticipating her arriving home and finally seeing the moment that had changed everything between them unfold before his eyes. He arrived there at ten and waited for at least half an hour until he heard laughter coming from the top of the road. It was them. She looked really pretty in her fuchsia gown while he looked incredibly handsome in his suit jacket and bolo tie. There had only ever been the one picture of the two of them for Junior prom and even Rachel was in that one. Seeing them there, right in front of his eyes, maybe not quite together yet but together all the same, brought the biggest smile to his face.

Hiding behind a tree across the road he watched as his father gave his mother his jacket, as they walked down the street and then to her front porch. He watched as his father did a dorky impression – of which many he had been taught – and then awkwardly put his hand behind his head, thinking he had messed up.

But his mother only laughed. And it wasn't a 'that was so lame' laugh, it was an honest to goodness 'you're adorable laugh'.

Matt was enjoying this moment for all it was worth. Who wouldn't? It wasn't everyday that you got to see the exact moment where everything fell into place for your parents, the people who loved each other more than anything. Well, of course this wasn't the moment he had heard about. The moment was when his dad had asked her to dance but that was irrelevant as he watched his mom place a soft kiss on his dad's cheek and walk inside.

And he didn't exactly miss the victory dance his father did all the way up the path.

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><p>While working in The Lima Bean had become a chore in itself due to the dodging of various members of the New Directions (he knows that Brittany saw him one time but when she told Santana, she had shrugged it off and it had never been brought up again) there was one moment of relief in the chaos.<p>

"Do you think they know?"

"I don't think anyone knows."

Matt smiled to himself, unable to hold in the urge to grin but just able to resist jumping around the place shouting 'my parents are together!' Thinking back on it maybe he wasn't as much of a force in their relationship as he had thought but when they sat down to have coffee, at a secluded table away from the hustle and bustle of everyone else, away from Kurt and Blaine, he had a quick listen in to their conversation and was pleased by what he heard.

Active conversation, their hands slightly touching but not too much to cause any suspicion and those smiles that said 'I may just be crazy about you,' all made him know that deep in his heart this was always going to happen and maybe he had slightly pushed them along but it had only been that one time with Puck and the ATM. Everything else had happened because they had made it so. Because they were meant to make it so.

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><p>Handing in his apron on the last day of May, the time machine was ready to be used again. He knew the rollicking he would get when he told his parents where he had been but due to using the machine he wouldn't have been gone for two years, maybe a substantial period of time but not too much to cause much alarm. He had taken himself off the enrolment for Dalton and tied up all loose ends. Not that there were many threads to begin with.<p>

His life was in the future, his girlfriend, his best friend, his family were all there.

He shed the name Rutherford and was finally back to who he was.

He climbed in and braced himself for the sudden jolt he would feel but he was content.

Matt Evans was going back to where he was meant to be.

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><p><strong>So what do you all think? I just had to get this down. At first I was like this is going to suck so bad but when I really got into it I really got into it so I stayed up just to finish it. <strong>

**I'm not sure exactly who came up with the idea on tumblr but whoever did can take all the awards. I did take a slight twist on the theory here obviously but the idea of Matt being the Samcedes child was golden! And I applaud you, or the group of you who did it. Whoever you are, well done!**

**Anyway, leave a wee review :)**

**WickedSong x**


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